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Drayton Manor Theme Park
| opening_date = 16 October 1949 | previous_names = Drayton Manor Park Drayton Manor Family Theme Park | season = Theme park: mid March to early November (regular); late November to January (Drayton's Magical Christmas); selected days in February (February Half Term) and in March (Thomas Weekends) Zoo: All year round | area = | rides = 40 | coasters =5 | water_rides = 3 (one under maintenance) | founders = George Bryan | owner = Colin Bryan (Manager) | slogan = "Total value family entertainment" | homepage = }} Drayton Manor is a theme park resort, and zoo in the grounds of the former Drayton Manor, in Drayton Bassett, Staffordshire, England, UK. The park covers of which about 113 acres are in use, and hosts about 1.5 million people each year. Rides at the park include The Shockwave, Europe's only stand up coaster, and Apocalypse, a five-sided drop tower. The park's maximum daily capacity is 15,000 guests, which is set with guest experience and traffic congestion in mind. History The land on which the theme park was built belonged to the Peel family, but the mansion (built in 1835) had been reduced to ruins in 1926. The British Army requisitioned it as a training post during World War II. After the war, entrepreneurs George and Vera Bryan borrowed £6,000 and bought the land (and the 17 huts that the army had constructed during their stay). They opened a small amusement park with just a handful of children's rides in 1949. In 1954 Mrs Molly Badham (who later opened the nearby Twycross Zoo) joined forces with the Bryans and opened a small zoo to complement the fun park. The amusement park grew slowly in the 1950s, '60s and '70s but in the late '80s the park began to install bigger and more thrilling rides to attract customers from all over the United Kingdom. Drayton Manor Theme Park is today the fifth most popular theme park in the UK and still managed by Colin Bryan The Park Drayton Manor Theme Park is divided into 7 areas: Thomas Land, Action Park, Aerial Park, Fisherman's Wharf, Pirate Cove, The Zoo and Dinotrail, Farmer McColl's Farm. Main Plaza is the main entrance to the park. Thomas Land is the park's children's area and draws inspiration from Thomas the Tank Engine and his friends who are quite familiar to both readers of the books and the TV-series. This area, which was called Robinson's Land until 2007, has many rides and attractions that appeal to children. Action Park does not really have any discernible theme to it apart from the number of thrill rides it has on offer - hence the name Action Park. Main attractions include: One of Europe's stand up roller coasters; the Shockwave, a giant gyro swing known as Maelstrom, the X Car roller coaster G Force, the river rapids ride Splash Canyon and a Verizon of Zamperla's Air race Aerial Park also serves as the park's main throughway, flanked by rides, restaurants and stores. The rides are mostly characterized by their aerial nature - hence the name Aerial Park. Cartoon Network Street is the new name given to the part of the street where the roller coaster that opened in 2011 Ben 10 - Ultimate Mission can be found. Entrance 1 (next door to the hotel) is located here as well. Main attractions include: the drop tower Apocalypse, the mad house The Haunting, the inverted giant swing Pandemonium, the teacup style drunken barrells, the laser shooting game Wild west shootout, The flying Dutchman a swing style ride, the Buffalo rollercoaster and a forementioned Ben 10 - Ultimate Mission. It also host UK's only Cartoon Network Shop. Fisherman's Wharf is situated next to the lake - hence the name Fisherman's Wharf even though (apart from the Lighthouse) theming is not the area's strong suit. Attractions include: the super splash Stormforce 10, the Polpero Express, the carousel and the swinging ship The Bounty. Pirate Cove is loosely themed as a Pirate haven, with 3 appropriately themed rides: the dark ride Pirate Adventure (which is currently under maintenance), the Jolly Buccaneer and the Dodgems The Zoo and Dinotrail offer respite from the amusement park rides; the 15-acre walkthrough zoo (which is open all year) has quite a few animal enclosures with over 100 different species of animals on display including tigers, meerkats, penguins, parrots, reptiles, owls etc. There is also a Discovery Museum, and then there is a walkthrough Dinosaurland with life-size models of dinosaurs to intrigue and enthral the kids. Farmer McColl's Farm is an extension of the zoo, but it specialises in domestic farm animals. There is also a Discover Thomas and Friends Exhibition, an outdoor activity area, exotic animal reserve, and Bryan's Slot Machine Museum. Just outside the park is Peel Plaza where guests can play Miniature Golf. It also has a Caravan and Camp site. File:Entrance to Drayton Manor Park - geograph.org.uk - 1461434.jpg|Main Entrance File:Drayton Manor Park - geograph.org.uk - 1461439.jpg|Lake view Roller coasters File:DraytonManor Shockwave.jpg|Shockwave File:DraytonManorGForce.jpg|G Force Thrill rides File:Drayton Manor Park - geograph.org.uk - 232478.jpg|Maelstrom File:Drayton Manor Park - geograph.org.uk - 1617203.jpg|Pandemonium Water rides File:Storm Force 10 at Drayton Manor Park - geograph.org.uk - 1466064.jpg|Storm Force 10 File:Drayton Manor Theme Park - geograph.org.uk - 13895.jpg|Splash Canyon Other rides Thomas Land Set in of parkland, Thomas Land was re-themed with plenty of new children's rides in 2008, previously it had been called Robinson's Land. In addition to the rides, there are 3 daily live shows, the Discover Thomas & Friends Exhibition, the Thomas Land Shop and an indoor and an outdoor play area for kids. Discover Thomas & Friends Exhibition Located in Farmer McColls Farm. In early 2009, HIT Entertainment announced that the original models from the Thomas & Friends television series would be put on display at Thomas Land in an exhibit called "Discover Thomas & Friends", as production was to move to Canada, now that the series is to be animated with CGI. The models were then put on display in 2010. So far, the layout features Great Waterton, a town that first appeared in "The Great Discovery", the Fishing Village and Brendam Docks. Many other buildings have been seen from previous seasons from the show, such as "Neptune's Refreshments", "Ben's Books", Toby's Shed and Bluff's Cove signal box. Models have also appeared in the workshop, including: Bulgy, Terence, Trevor, Elizabeth, Butch, 3 Horrid Lorries, a canal boat, A Tug boat (Top Hat), A Harbour Ship (Izzy Gomez), 2 red and white express carriages, 2 green and cream express carriages, Thomas, Edward, Toby, Stepney, Rosie, Harvey, Bulstrode, Toad the brake van (faceless), and various trucks. Thomas Land Shop A large selection of Thomas & Friends toys, games, memorabilia and collectibles available for purchase. File:Thomas Land at Drayton Manor Park - geograph.org.uk - 1461435.jpg|Entrance to Thomas Land File:ThomasLand.jpg|Knapford Station Turntable Past rides & attractions Zoo Drayton Manor is also home to a zoo. It contains over 100 species from all over the world. It is also the only part of Drayton Manor that is open all year round (apart from Christmas Day). Drayton Manor Hotel In February 2009 revised plans for a hotel at Drayton Manor were submitted to Lichfield District Council. Planning permission for the hotel was granted in 2007 though the applicants felt that the scheme could benefit from further improvements without increasing the site area required. The 4-star hotel with 150 well-appointed contemporary guest rooms including 11 Thomas & Friends themed bedrooms is designed to primarily meet the demand from park visitors as the theme park is attracting families from all over the UK, particularly since the arrival of Thomas Land. Events The park holds many events throughout the year including fundraising for Birmingham's Children's Hospital and musical projects. An annual fireworks event takes place on the lake. The Park will also be home to Miss Community UK Grand Finals in 2016. This national UK pageant focuses on community and charity work. A number of musicians have visited the park including Steps, G4, Hear'Say, and The Vamps. Incidents Maelstrom On August 3, 2012, a mother-of-two died of a cardiac arrest seconds after coming off the maelstrom ride. A message from her daughter read "RIP Momma, Love You." The ride was also closed for several hours for inspection. Pandemonium Not necessarily an incident but due to ongoing changes in the industry the height restriction for Pandemonium had been altered. It changed from 1.2m to 1.4m. References External links * Official website * Drayton Manor Fansite Category:Amusement parks in England Category:Zoos in England Category:Tourist attractions in Staffordshire Category:1949 establishments in England Category:Buildings and structures in Staffordshire Category:Zoos established in 1954 Category:Articles needing infobox zoo Category:Amusement parks opened in 1949